The Pacers are in the NBA Finals. The Fever have Caitlin Clark. In Indy, basketball is booming
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Rick Carlisle used the line after the Indiana Pacers won the Eastern Conference title earlier this month, the one that is the official motto for the state's basketball Hall of Fame and surely has been uttered for generations.
'In 49 other states, it's just basketball,' said Carlisle, the Pacers' head coach. 'But this is Indiana.'
It's true: Basketball never loses importance here. But these days, the state — and Indianapolis especially — probably feels like the center of the basketball universe.
Indiana is the state that lays claim to Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. It boasts the most recent team to finish an NCAA Division I men's season undefeated in Bob Knight's 1975-76 Indiana squad. It inspired the movie 'Hoosiers,' cheered Reggie Miller for the entirety of his Hall of Fame career and now has the talk of the women's game in Caitlin Clark for the WNBA's Fever — a team that might be playing for titles in Indianapolis before too long.
Oh, and the Pacers are back in the NBA Finals, too.
The NBA's title round returns to Indianapolis on Wednesday night for the first time in 25 years. Game 3, Oklahoma City at Indiana, series tied at a game apiece. In 49 other states, they'll be watching. In Indiana, they'll be seeing.
'I think you're making a valid point about the Fever and Caitlin being here,' Carlisle said, when asked about the parallel between Indianapolis' two teams enjoying simultaneous success. 'Both teams are teams that are working their way up and getting better. The level of interest is high. We've always had great fans here.'
He would know. He's in his third stint as a resident of the Hoosier State. He was an assistant coach, then became Pacers head coach, then left for Dallas, then came back to coach the Pacers again.
He's seen good times. He's seen bad times. He's now seeing crazed times. There are 'Yes, 'Cers' signs all over the city. The Pacers' chances are the talk of the bar at the famed St. Elmo Steak House, and yes, they're big Fever fans there as well.
The Fever and Pacers are both owned by Herb Simon, the 90-year-old Hall of Famer who bought the NBA team more than 40 years ago. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Simon deserves much of the credit for what's happening in Indy these days.
'As David Stern used to say, 'We're going to keep him at it until he gets it right.' And here we are,' Silver said of Simon, referring to his predecessor as NBA commissioner. 'He's the longest standing owner, governor in NBA history. And I'm just so happy for him, to see the success. The cherry on top of the whipped cream is we have a WNBA All-Star game coming there this summer. And how appropriate that what is viewed as the heartland of basketball, the state of Indiana, is seeing all this success around the game.'
It's Pacersmania and Caitlinmania, all at once, which means there are all sorts of things for Indy fans to be loving right now. There's a chance that Clark — who has been out with a quadriceps injury — could return to the Fever lineup on Saturday against the defending champion New York Liberty. That means it could be Pacers in a finals game Wednesday, Pacers in a finals game Friday, Clark's return against the WNBA champs on Saturday, all in one building.
Clark was courtside when the Pacers beat New York to clinch the East title, and her celebration — a loud scream — went viral. She has breathed new life into the WNBA; about 16,000 people went to Fever home and away games last season, while the average for all other games not involving the Fever was about 8,500. This season's ratings have plummeted while she's been out with the leg injury; by Nielsen's numbers, nationally televised WNBA viewership is down 55% since she got hurt.
'Caitlin is amazing,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, a close friend of Clark, said earlier this season. 'For me, getting to actually spend time around her, be around her, get to know her personally, she's just an amazing person and amazing player. ... I think the Fever in general, they're like rock stars. They're a big part of the growth behind that league.'
A big part of Indianapolis' basketball renaissance, too.
People here never forget about the game. And on Sundays in football season, the predominantly gold Pacers and Fever jerseys get traded for the blue and white of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The rest of the time, in good or bad, it seems basketball is always the go-to for fandom among Hoosiers.
After all, in 49 other states, it's just basketball. But this is Indiana.
'Honestly, I can't wait to see how rocking and loud this place is,' Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith said when asked what he thinks Game 3 will feel like. 'It's going to be a special, special moment for sure.'
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